The ones I Lived for
by FireAtWill52
Summary: Harry's graduation speech


The ones I lived for:

A young man with bright green eyes stood quietly, gazing out at the ocean of faces before him. He then took a deep breath, raised his wand to his throat and murmured 'Sonorus'. He slowly stepped forward to the podium and started to speak. "Er… I know that Ron and Hermione are Head Boy and Girl… but they told me I had to speak… so, um, you're kinda stuck with me instead… sorry…" Several members of the audience laughed, as the boy cleared his throat nervously and launched into his speech.

"Friends, family, teachers and most importantly, fellow students… we did it! We survived 7 whole years at Hogwarts!" He grinned as the crowd in front of him cheered, "but it wasn't an easy ride, was it? We've seen a lot of bad stuff come our way, stuff that hurt us, and left behind wounds that can't ever be healed…" he paused, remembering a boy with grey eyes, and a man with a laugh that sounded like a dog's bark, then he continued, "but, we overcame those difficulties together, as one… united…and although for that I'm so very grateful, the role we've played our part in ever since we arrived here at Hogwarts was a hard one to master… for me, especially… and I'm about to review as to why…"

"In my First year… I discovered I was a wizard, and I learnt about the man who was responsible for the death of my parents… something I didn't know anything about, having grown up being told they were killed in a car crash…not only did I learn about this man… I also fought him, and won… an uneasy experience, as I'm sure you can imagine… but I got through it, all because of the two biggest highlights of my life… my best friends: Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. I wouldn't have survived that battle if it weren't for them," he smiled down at them, and they beamed back at him.

"We went through a lot together that year, didn't we guys? If I can remember correctly…we defeated a troll, got chased by three-headed dogs, got stuck in a giant plant, got attacked by flying keys, played a big game of chess, walked through fire and saved the Philosophers Stone from Voldemort" A shiver ran briefly through the crowd when he said that name. "Then, in our Second year…we flew a car into a tree, got attacked by rouge bludgers, talked to snakes, regrew 33 bones, almost got eaten by giant spiders, spent a great deal of time in a girls bathroom, made a Polyjuice potion, opened the Chamber of Secrets, saved Ginny Weasley, kicked a Basilisks ass, and defeated an evil diary" He took another deep breath.

"And then, if that's not enough, in our Third year…we blew up my aunt, found my Godfather, got attacked by Dementors, defeated those same Dementors, sneaked into Hogsmeade, saved my Godfather and an innocent Hippogriff…oh, in case you're wondering why I'm saying we all the time, when obviously we can't all have done those things… for instance…Hermione made the Polyjuice potion practically by herself, I blew up my aunt and Ron flew the car into the tree…" Ron made a rude gesture up at him, "but the reason I said we all did it… was because, if it happened to one of us, it pretty much happened to all three of us… cos that's how close we are…" Hermione stared to cry, upon hearing that and Ron turned and looked at her bewilderedly.

Harry smiled down at his friends again, "So… to continue… in our Fourth year…we flew around a dragon, swam in the lake, walked through a maze, saw voldemort return to full strength, duelled with Voldemort, and watched Cedric Diggory be murdered…" he swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in his throat, and hurried on, "In our Fifth year, we saw events happen through Voldemort's eyes, flew to the ministry, battled with Death Eaters, formed an illegal Defence group and saw my Godfather get killed by one of his own flesh and blood…"

He shook his head slightly, to try and clear it, "in our Sixth year, we mainly prepared for the war, and now at the end of our Seventh year… the war is over, and Voldemort is gone… so yeah, I'd say us three went through a fair bit together…" the audience chuckled. "We went through hell, and we couldn't have survived without the guidance and help from our teachers, especially Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape… so I'd like to take a moment to thank them".

He turned to them and began to clap, immediately; the crowd clapped too, and gave the teachers, who were sitting behind Harry, a standing ovation. The teachers, all blushed or smiled or waved or started to cry, except Snape, who met Harry's eyes with as much hatred as he always had. And Harry knew, as he turned back to the waiting audience, that Snape, no matter how many wars he fought alongside Harry, would never let anything change his attitude towards him. But somehow Harry didn't really mind. He felt that, in a way, it made life seem normal and real… in a way nothing else could.

"You know, being the Boy Who Lived hasn't been at all easy. People always stare at my scar all the time, and tell how much I'm like my father, but that I have my mothers eyes… all they're doing is telling me things about people I don't have any real memories of… only photos and such… I know that you all think I'm amazing because I defeated Voldemort and avenged my parent's deaths… but… well…its not like I did anything all that special… I simply did what I was born to do… I fulfilled the Prophecy. And it's not like I did it alone… I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for many of you people in the audience… especially Ron and Hermione…."

He sighed, "I know what I'm saying to you isn't making much sense, but I hope this does: I want you all to swear that you'll always hold your days here at Hogwarts close. I want you to realise that just because Voldemort is gone… it doesn't mean life is going to be one big chocolate pudding…. There will still be times when you've got to make life-altering decisions…and for that you'll need all your experience, as well as your friends and family around you… I'm speaking from my own experience…. Even though most of the decisions I made were about whether or not to attack Voldemort… or run from him… I always had my friends with me…. I had their voices telling me what to do… I had them next to me… running and fighting…"

"What I'm trying and failing to say is…you can't live without your family and friends… so don't screw up relationships because you're feeling a little jealous" Ron poked his tongue out at him, and tired to wipe the tears away before Harry could see them, "or because you're afraid to tell someone something that could ruin everything… you have to honest…" he was looking at Hermione, then glanced pointedly at Ron. Hermione, who was crying uncontrollably, nodded to show she understood what he was saying she had to do.

He smiled around at all the audience and said, "My friends, I want to thank all of you… for being there for me when I needed you, for believing in me when I needed you… and for being the best friends anyone could hope for!" The crowd exploded into cheers again. Harry could see Dean, Seamus and Neville all thumping each other on the backs, Luna gazing dreamily around at everyone, Ginny and all of her brothers jumping up and down and screaming their heads off, Mrs Weasley crying, Mr Weasley trying to hush his children, and everyone else that Harry knew so well were all clapping like mad.

He laughed and waited for them to all hush, which they did, except for Fred and George, who were busy debating what fireworks to set off at the end of the ceremony. Harry felt tears threaten to fall when he looked down at Ron and Hermione and whispered, "and I want to thank my family… my brother and sister…" Hermione started to cry even harder; the front of her robes were soaked with tears now, and Ron suddenly ducked out Harry's sight, refusing to let his friend see him in rather hysterical tears. "Ron… Hermione… you guys mean everything to me… you've always been there and I cannot thank you enough for that…I just want to tell you…that when Voldemort had me… I though I was dying, the pain I was in was so horrible… but the thought of you two… pulled me back… it was you two, even though you weren't physically there, who saved me… you saved me… so… thank you….you guys are my entire life…you're the ones I decided I would fight back for… you're the ones I lived for…this may sound extremely gay but… I love you two…so much"

He didn't manage to get anymore out, one; because he was crying so hard, and two; because Hermione and Ron had jumped to their feet, and were now sprinting onto the stage, and flinging themselves onto Harry. He hadn't been prepared for that, so they all nearly fell over, which wouldn't have mattered, Harry thought, as they all clung to each other, crying, because the only thing that did matter was that they had each other, and never let go. Finally they broke apart, and the crowd jumped to their feet, sobbing and screaming and clapping like mad, and the Golden Trio stood together and looked out at the school that was the source of their best memories, and smiled through their tears, because it was this school, and the people in it, that had brought them together, and helped them find, not the people they would die for, but the two people that they _lived_ for.

Did you like it? It's quite weird, and it didn't come out the way I wanted it to, also the ending was way to rushed…anyways, please R&R! I really need it!!


End file.
